8178-R1_MSA_November2022_MaineSnowmobiler

From The Executive Board

From the President

and The Cancer Center. Thank you Steve Shuman and crew for all that you do! On Saturday afternoon, the show was honored to have 16-year-old Blake Pettengill from nearby Belgrade. The Make a Wish Foundation asked him what his wish would be. He said a new snowmobile! Well, before he get a new sled he needs to be out fitted. Yeah, you guessed it. Many vendors at the show came out big time for our new friend Blake! He got helmets, oil, a complete suit, gloves, goggles, socks, t-shirts, a large gear bag and other goodies. What a day indeed. No dry eyes that afternoon! We, the snowmobile family came through and made that young man’s dream come true. Thank you to everyone who made Blake’s day. Just love this MSA family. We had a director’s meeting at the SAM building in Augusta for October. Our new zoom feature is working out well. Bob and Lori have it nearly perfected. Our next meeting will be in Lexington at their clubhouse. November 15 th I believe. With the holiday approaching, we have some MSA clothing items at the office for sale stop by to check them out. Also, I hope you all have a great start to this busy time of year. ITS maps are in along with more raffle tickets; Lori designed a new Guide to highlight the different parts of our snowmobiling in Maine. Make sure you thank the landowner(s) that our trails go on without them we’d be out of business. Thanks for all you do, I really appreciate it! Call me if I can help. AL discount the loyalty of your Southern, Eastern and Western clubs. Guess who are the people that are riding in your Northern and Western areas when they can’t in theirs…. Yep, it is one big cogged wheel! I guess I was floored as well, as one very young attractive couple actu ally drove to the show…. From Pennsylvania. Throughout the weekend, my wife and I cherished the many volunteers that crossed our paths along our snowmobiling and MSA journey. Some of these people were the very ones sitting in their volunteer chairs and also shouldered the weight on their backs. Some of those relationships even began with not easy conversations of what does MSA do? Yet they were standing in front of us looking to keep on the great tradition. We left that show with such a sense of warmth of the fellow friends that we saw knowing they are looking at and using the same MSAmap we do year in and year out. Just Wow…. and Thanks On another very recent online post, a dedi cated volunteer posted up a picture of a couple hazard signs he had proudly installed. With respect, he had improperly placed the orienta tion of them, unaware that there was actually a proper way to install them. Let’s be fair here, who is the poor sap that is going to pick up the ball and cast the first stone and tell some one that they voluntarily installed sings incor rectly. Everyone knows the universal one-fin ger answer that generally follows, right? Well two well-respected people in addition to me chimed in instructing him on where to get a signing manual in addition to telling him the thanks they appreciated of him taking the time to do it. This particular post went incredibly different to most as positive vibes from both sides surfaced with words of “Thanks for the tips and thanks for the constructive criticism (instructions)”. What resonated even more, this volunteer proved his engagement and called out his trail inspector by name in the post, and showed appreciation of his, his inspectors, and his club’s involvement to improve things. This is how this is supposed to work, and I salute all involved in the post that resided with the Winterport Riverside Riders. Thirdly, I would like to thank the volunteers that attended and worked the show. Many of the great MSA members just need to be more verbal of their willingness to help as guess who are the ones that do the scheduling? Yep! Vol unteers! I heard from more than one that truly enjoyed, you guessed it, VOLUNTEERING! In legislative news, a formal letter has been sent to Senator Russell Black asking for his spon sorship for a bill for snowmobile trail enforce ment. We will follow up on this very soon. On to some more trail work and if you are interested in helping your club, now is the best time of the year! Thanks Folks! John Monk

The group of Mike Grass, John Monk, Roland and Beth Bowie, Larry and Eileen LaFland, Bob Flagg, Mark Chinncok and Ms. Lori the lady that wears all the hats took off to the New Hampshire Grass Drags for a weekend showcasing MSA under the big top! A great job indeed by those folks making it happen and spreading Maine Snowmobiling. ITS maps were handed out. Our friends at Franklin Printing in Farmington made some adjustments at the publishing factory and bailed us out so maps were available. Off to the Fryeburg fair the club sold another huge amount of tickets over the weeklong event. The Polaris and Nitro trailer were on display so the fairgoers could see them! Thanks to those folks and every club in the state selling the tickets. This is the easiest way for you clubs to make money. This is our second year putting together the annual snowmobile show in Augusta. The Civic Center staff as always were gracious and made us feel very comfortable. You volunteers make it happen! Volunteers staffed the show and I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work, and taking time away from normal family duties to make it run smooth. We had nearly all but two booths filled. We reached out to get more vendors along with Chambers Of Commerce. Charlies Auto Mall came through again being the major sponsor. They are a great friend to have throughout our community with monetary donations and time to the likes of YMCA, Boys Club, The Hospitals

Lori Hemmerdinger (207) 890-5455 544 Plains Road • Poland, ME 04274 Treasurer@mesnow.com Treasurer’s Report Respectfully Submitted, Lori Hemmerdinger, Treasurer

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com

H i Snowmobiler’s Welcome to November! First off, with a heavy heart I have to let you all know if you don’t already that past President David Stevens has died. David was a fine man and truly loved the MSA and all its members. A true gentleman he will be missed. We have been very busy getting the show together. Now that it has passed, we can concentrate on the raffle and other business .October was a statewide event month, from Benedicta twice, Bridgton, Leeds, Fryeburg, Wiscasset, and a landowner meeting in Bingham.

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$109,752.80 $ 57,321.72 $ 52,431.08 $258,142.57 $ 99,421.06

Net Revenue

Checking (10/31/22)

DedicatedAccount (10/31/22)

Pay Pal (10/31/22) - Special EventsAccount (10/31/22) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (10/31/22) $ - Building Fund 10/31/22) $ 53,917.35 BrianWass Safety Fund (10/31/22) $ 1,285.29 MSA Scholarship SavingsAccount $ 1,832.16 MSA Scholarship CDAccount $ 60,133.63 $

From the Executive VP

Steering Committee

Scholarship Committee

Mark Chinnock, Vice President 207-754-9874 544 Plains Road, Poland, ME 04274 napadude66@hotmail.com

N ow that another successful MSA Show has come on gone I would like to take a minute to thank everyone involved starting with all the dedicated and hard-working vol unteers, all the vendors that spent three long days at the Civic Center and finally the snow mobile loving community that showed up and supported the show, our vendors and the MSA. The Scholarship Committee once again held a 50/50 Raffle, special thanks to Bob LaFon taine for working all 3 days; Ken & Estelle Carey, Marion Pinkham and Terry Majors also manned the booth. The weather was a little too nice to break any attendance records but we still had a great time and raised almost $600 for the scholarship fund. Also, a shout out to President Al Swett for making sure we had a new banner, we were long overdue to have a new one. The committee has always regarded the Show as a great way to get our message out, the funds we raise are great but getting in front of a couple thousand people over the weekend is even better. Often someone will stop by to get more information or this year a gentleman donated because he said his daugh ter won one of our scholarship a few years back or even to get more information to take back to their club. Speaking of clubs, the committee is always looking for donations to help build the schol arship fund bigger so that someday we can give out more scholarships and increase the amount of the awards. Anything helps, maybe your club has an extra $25, $50 or $100 it might like to donate. Or maybe hold an event to help us all promote the scholarship, if any one would like help, ideas or even have a committee member attend you club meeting all of our committee members are willing to do whatever we can. With the holiday season fast approaching, we hope others might consider supporting this wonderful opportunity to help families as they work hard to pay for the ever-increasing cost of post high school education. On behalf of the scholarship committee, let’s hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays. Harvey Chesley, 207-314-0637 25 Hillcrest Dr, Clinton ME 04927 harv.chesley@gmail.com

John Monk Chairman of Steering Committee monksdoomopars@hermon.net Volunteers of the MSA

H ello Folks,

I hope everyone had a good October and had a chance to take in the Maine Snowmobile Show in Augusta. There was plenty to see with lots of great informational booths, clothing and gear, trailers and of course snowmobiles. November is here and that means tons of Snowmobile related things going on. I see many posts of clubs out doing trail work and getting preventative maintenance done on the grooming equipment the past few weeks along with landowner events and open houses. Once again, October saw the MSA on the move, not only at the Show but also at several Club events and meetings across the State. Trails Workshops and mapping meetings are scheduled for this month on the Trails Committee side of the MSA, and the ITS maps are out and can be picked up at the MSA office or by contacting an MSA representative. There are several important MSA and Dept. of ACF applications and Club forms that need attention and that are time sensitive with deadlines. Below you’ll find a quick checklist to help your Club make sure that they are submitted on time, as some are crucial to Clubs receiving Grants and other funding. Something to remember is that the MSA is here for the Clubs to use as a tool, so please if there is anything that a Club in the membership needs, by all means reach out to me or your local MSA Rep, we have many resources available and are here to help. One more thing, Super Raffle tickets are out and going fast! This is a no brainer fundraiser for your Club and encourages community involvement. ✔ Club Grant Applications ✔ Municipal Grant Application ✔ Club Grant Final Submittal for Reimbursement ✔ Municipal Grant Final Submittal for Reimbursement 4/30/23 ✔ Capital Equipment Grant App. 6/15/23 Important Club Deadlines - MSA ✔ Officer Update Forms 12/1/22 ✔ Super Raffle Deadline 12/6/22 12/1/22 12/1/22 4/30/23 Important Club Deadlines - DACF

H ello All,

I kindly like to share incredible apprecia tion for the astounding support so many people throw at this great avenue we call snowmo biling. My wife and I are just coming off the whirlwind weekend of the annual MSA show in Augusta, and we can’t fathom the incredi ble people that make up this great industry. We were very fortunate to have been handed the task of selling admissions and placing bracelets on the people attending the show. As small talk early on, I started asking “Did you come up, did you come down or did you come over”? The answers, as one can imagine were all over the place, with a surprising number stating, “We came up”. I truly felt I may have needed to change my cling-on phrase, as I was stifled as to the number of people who actually “came over” from the coastal areas traditionally that do not have extended riding seasons. My modification next season may have to include “coming over and from which direction”? Not to get off topic, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it and ended with a statement such as “Thanks for taking the time to come and support the MSA”. Not once, not twice, but in excess of 10 to 15 times, the people pur chasing tickets stated, “Thanks for having this and taking the time to volunteer”. I share this gleamingly as who wouldn’t of enjoyed being outdoors washing their car, putting up firewood or a last motorcycle ride, but the fact that oth ers showed appreciation of the volunteers lock ing down the weekend was truly worth every second of being there. The second take-a-way from this was “The coming up, and the com ing overs”. This is truly “the proof of support, dedication and loyalty from the people that are not as blessed to have extended seasons in their own back yard”. This tidbit is a shout to the people of extended seasons of don’t be quick to

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